The present invention concerns a mechanical connection of a tube to a tube receiving member, and more particularly, concerns a multi-piece air horn that includes mechanical connections facilitating assembly while also providing a non-rotatable, axially secure arrangement, although the invention is not limited to air horns.
Air horns positioned on truck cabs must withstand substantial vibration and stress without failure. Multi-piece air horns are desirable since individual parts can be tuned to provide optimal sound characteristics while minimizing part costs. However, the connections joining the multiple pieces must be secure and durable since the failure of any of the connections can cause one of the multiple pieces to come loose, causing a safety hazard.
In a known three-piece air horn, a die cast base and a die cast bell are attached to opposing ends of a welded steel tube of gradually increasing diameter. The narrow end of the tube includes a knurled exterior surface for mateably engaging a mating hole in the die cast base and further includes an end surface that abuttingly engages a shoulder in the hole to set the depth of the robe in the base. The knurled outer surface is coated with adhesive which fills any gaps in the connection and holds the tube and base together when it cures. The larger end of the robe also fits mateably into a hole in the bell, and is also secured therein by cured adhesive. However, the adhesive sometimes does not withstand the substantial vibration and stress encountered by an air horn in the field such that the connection does not hold, and the parts come apart. Still further, adhesive is expensive and its application labor intensive since it requires an additional step in the assembly process, and still further requires cure time to set the adhesive. Also, knurling the steel tube is not inexpensive.
Thus, a mechanical connection solving the aforementioned problems is desired. Further, a mechanical connection is desired which provides a secure, non-rotatable connection that securely holds parts without the need for secondary operations.